I've encountered some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.
Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.
Note: Spoilers Ahead
Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.
Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.
The Pivotal Moment
That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.
But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.
A Painful Choice
I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?
The staircase, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Are the stairs one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?
No Right or Wrong
The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.
But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs either. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?
My Experience
In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call
